[Closed] Just come to the end of a training plan, now what?

Go CX racing?

New build plan at updated FTP?

CX racing is on the list but maybe for next winter. My most suitable bike is on the turbo and the mountain bike is currently....well....is in pieces by the workstand.....

At the moment, I've only got virtual power from what Trainerroad interprets from my turbo model, cadence and speed. Out on the road it'd have to be heart rate based unless I got a power meter.

Hence the attraction of mostly Sufferfest sessions.

I know the benefits of these high intensity plans are awesome and a bit addictive, but I would recommend being careful with this type of training if you're preparing for the spring. "Building" for 5 months is sure to lead to a plateau, whereas working on other areas of your fitness right now and then ramping up into the high intensity as we get later into winter could be a good option. The other areas of fitness that I'm talking about are base/endurance to really boost that aerobic engine, strength training, pedaling efficiency/technique, etc. Putting in the time on things like these now will lead to even bigger gains when you get into the high intensity work later on and keep you from hitting a plateau.

-Trevor from TrainerRoad

^^ there are some schools of thought that doing High intensity stuff through winter, and doing longer more aerobic workouts nearer to your goals the following year brings better results. Maybe have a break for a few weeks, or do something different, then do your FTP. Then start with the HIIT until the weather gets a bit nicer, days get longer.

Win. 😈

Plans are useful to hit specifi targets and should have definite ends. The genius is to convert fitness into your lifestyle. This builds a sustainable base. The higher the base level the better which is what you work on. Then you up the ante using a plan to hit your goal culminating at the event day or days. It shouldn't bean endless beasting

I enjoyed the Sufferfest plan, it was laid out and became a manageable and regular regime - and something I could tell the family, so they knew when I was doing a session and not just trying to get some peace and quiet 😉

I'm limited to probably a 3-4 hour ride at the weekend, plus either an hour after work or commuting on the bike.

From what I read, aerobic base will only be developed if I can spend more time in the saddle?

How do I go about strength training? Does this mean weight/gym or just pushing a harder gear than usual?

I've got some rollers so have been spending some of the training plan medium intensity rides on those rather than outdoors. And during these roller sessions I have been focussing on good pedalling and a slightly higher cadence.

The overall aim is to be vaguely competitive for cat 3 crits and road racing next season.

From what I read, aerobic base will only be developed if I can spend more time in the saddle?

not necessarily, have a read of a book called Beyond Training by Ben Greenfield, explains in better than I can. Talks a lot about strength training too.

From reading up on this myself recently it appears that the traditional base of just putting loads of miles in the legs can instead be replaced by sweetspot training. However if you have access to trainer road, as I now have, I would strongly recommend following the relevant plan for what you want to achieve. It is all to easy to pick and choose what you might 'enjoy' doing rather than attacking your weaknesses.
For strength I've always used standing start sprints and hill reps in higher gears as a build, generally strength can take longer to build than fitness. Luckily it seems to take longer to go as well...

I do have trainerroad but other than the sufferfest videos, I haven't tried following just the power profiled workouts on there.

You'd also be surprised at what weight training using your own body weight can do, squats, burpees etc. do some core work too. Seems to against the grain a bit, but it works

The obvious suggestion is to do a sweet spot base on trainerroad which is 6 + 6 weeks, lots of form, cadence and aero drills included. It starts with an 8 minute test on Tuesday which you might bear in mind before putting yourself through the 20...

Get yourself down to the gym and do some core muscle training, coupled with HIIT (or SIT) sessions to build aerobic capacity and reduced your recovery time.
I usually see out the Winter doing 20 minute, 1 on, 1 off HIIT sessions.
It's always nice when Spring rolls round and your ready to go. 😀

@ trevorderuise

What happened to the intermediate base two plan?

I had planned to start this, created my schedule, and now the page is missing on the site?
It was here:
http://www.trainerroad.com/cycling/plans/92-intermediate-base-ii

Is this now replaced by intermediate build two?

I've never had a gym membership and don't know I'd be interested enough to go down there if I did have one.

Had a look at the sweet spot trainerroad plans and it seemed as though there was a lot of pedalling at quite low intensities for essentially not a great amount of time?

I'm not totally confident that what seems like backing off will be beneficial come next spring?

How will just a 45 minute session benefit me unless its fairly high intensity?

And how does having a bigger aerobic base benefit me?

I can ride 60/70/80/90 miles etc with no great issue on the club run - or does a better aerobic base mean I can ride further faster?.

Revolver on Sufferfest is 15 x 1 minute on, 1 minute off. Horrendous but perversely addictive.

Depends on background I suppose. I've been cycling and racing mountain bikes for over 25 years and ride a bike everyday so I have a base that I can work on dependant on needs and timings. I read somewhere that it can take years to develop as any sort of endurance athlete but let's be honest we are all doing this to enjoy ourselves so just do what you enjoy. The issue is that you don't want to peak too early or put your best effort on the trainer and not on the course, sweet spot training is supposed to lift your FTP from below without over stressing.
If don't do gyms, which I don't, as someone said use body weight exercises. Push ups, crunches and planks every day for me.

How do I go about strength training? Does this mean weight/gym or just pushing a harder gear than usual?

These:
[img] [/img]
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/11-PCS-EXERCISE-RESISTANCE-BANDS-SET-FOR-YOGA-ABS-FITNESS-PILATES-WORKOUT-GYM-/371001455883?pt=UK_Sporting_Goods_Exercise_Fitness_Fitness_Accessories_ET&hash=item566168f50b

And these:
[img] [/img]
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/High-Quality-Suspension-Trainer-FULL-SET-Door-Anchor-Strap-Extender-home-gym-/400808645771?pt=UK_Strength_Training&hash=item5d520e948b

Less than a months gym mebership, and fit in a shoebox when not in use. Downside is no gym bunnies for motivation and the lack of full length mirrors at home for poseing. They do work though.

I might have to get a bit more disciplined and do crunches/planks etc. Had sporadic attempts at doing these regularly but never kept at it for more than a week or two.

I've biked for 25 years since being a teenager - fit enough for 15 and then probably a lot fitter for the last ten. Or fit enough to be towards the front of the pack on group mtb rides. I'm fine on club road rides too, but they're usual more social and sedate.

I know I'm going to plateau at some point, but I'd like to get to a higher plateau sooner, than plateau where I am if that makes sense.

Only raced road (crits) for the first time this year and it still seems a big step up. When the hammer drops so to speak in some of those crits there are some big (i.e. not necessarily lean muscular) lads who can ride away from me. They seem to have a bigger top end.

I know heart rates are a personal thing but from what I read and hear, my max heart rate - or how hard I'm prepared to push to get my max hr - is quite a bit less than other people of a similar age and also less than any estimated figure.

Yes, everyone's heart rate is different mainly due to genetics, do a max hr test read up about how to do a proper one. Also have a look into recovery hr as an indicator of fitness. I have an asthma check every year and if I get a different nurse I have to explain about my low heart rate, I have a very wide range between resting and max rate but sometimes I can't breath so can't have everything..
Unfortunately there is no quick fix, huge gains can and will be made but it's the final bit that makes the top guys special. I do ok, occasionally podium and finished 6th vet in a regional xc series this year, but I want to do better next year hence why I've recently got a turbo and will be more structured this winter but I am only expecting incremental gains. I do believe that to have a strong top end you need a strong base to build on and that takes time and effort however you do it.
Some of the guys that ride away from you may have been racing crits for years and a lot of it just may be race craft rather than anything else, throw away a race one day and try and chase down every breakaway it will show what you actually can do rather than trying to protect yourself.
The last thing I would say to you would be to train your weakness as your strengths will generally look after themselves on the bike, I enjoy sprinting and short sharp hill climbs hence I can do them or is it because I can do them I enjoy them..
Good luck next season and above all enjoy it.

I recommend you check out Musclegenes.com.

They have an 8 week programme that can be tailored to your goals or a simple test and comprehensive report.

The interesting angle here is that they test your genes, compare it to solid science on fitness, diet, supplements etc and can help you build a training programme that works with your genetic code, not against it.

I know the team running the business and they do know their stuff.

I've started doing some cross fit over the winter, very good for endurance sports.

In STW stylee I will quote the theory I have learned recently rather than give you the benefit of any true experience (or success)

Anaerobic fitness is more quickly gained and lost - 3-4 weeks

Aerobic fitnees takes time to build up but is therefore lost more slowly - 3 months

It's possible to peak too early/overtrain

Really good XC racers or people doing short max efforts have a really good aerobic base

Taking the above into account some way of building your base fitness before heading into speed phases is a sound idea (you can build the speed in less time and closer to race season but you can't do that with the base). How you do it is open to your own interpretation of the myriad things you will hear. In my case I'm making use of my 16-20mile commute to get quality (power meter) Z2 miles in. If you do enough and intersperse with something more unstructured and longer at the weekends you will find they become quite tiring.

Take care your training doesn't become more important than race performance - I'm in danger of this!

Thanks guys, all interesting stuff to think about. I got next week off work so I'm just going to do some long steady rides I wouldn't otherwise get chance to do and have a think about December/January.

Might head back to the intense stuff after Christmas, and in the meantime get some steady stuff in, along with some core stuff and a bit of running.

Smurf - the Musclegenes website says very little about the genetic testing side. Do they send you a swab kit or what?

Seems I pay £69 but what do I get for that fee?

Eat a pie

Eat a pie

Eat [s]a pie[/s] pies, cakes, biscuits, milkshake, beer

FTFY Pook!

The trainer road sweet spot sessions have some good form drills built in,which is good for keeping the interest up. Not too stressful on the body in terms of peaking either.

If you want to do some core strengthening, have a look at he exercises on Tom danielsons core advantage on youtube. The book that goes with them has some interesting plans to follow, and they've certainly helped with some imbalance problems I was having. Will have to see what next season brings to see if they're improving the rest of my riding though.

@mtbtomo

Yes, they send you a swab which is used to gather cheek cells. Something like 40 chromosome pairs are then analysed. These pairs are the ones where there is solid science about how they influence fitness, recovery, response to types of exercise, the food you eat etc.

You then get a comprehensive write up of your results and various recommendations.

They also run fitness challenges where you can be coached through a tailored 8 week programme.

Let me know off list if you have any more questions and I will help where I can. Any feedback you have on the website and products would be of interest.

Thanks